U.S. patent application number 12/988624 was filed with the patent office on 2012-06-07 for juicer module and vertical screw juicer.
This patent application is currently assigned to NUC ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Jong Boo Kim.
Application Number | 20120137899 12/988624 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43628574 |
Filed Date | 2012-06-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120137899 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kim; Jong Boo |
June 7, 2012 |
JUICER MODULE AND VERTICAL SCREW JUICER
Abstract
A juicer module is disclosed herein. The juicer module includes
an open top juicer container, a lid which is provided with a
material input through a side of the lid and coupled to an upper
portion of the juicer container, a net drum fixedly arranged within
the juicer container and a screw arranged within the net drum. The
screw is provided with a spiral portion formed on a side surface of
the screw and a rotary shaft to pass through the shaft hole of the
juicer container. The juicer module may further include a guide
rotary portion formed on an upper end of the screw, and the lid may
be provided with a rotary guide for guiding the rotation of the
screw, the rotary guide being in contact with an edge of the guide
rotary portion when the juicer module is assembled.
Inventors: |
Kim; Jong Boo; (Daegu,
KR) |
Assignee: |
NUC ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Daegu
KR
|
Family ID: |
43628574 |
Appl. No.: |
12/988624 |
Filed: |
August 24, 2010 |
PCT Filed: |
August 24, 2010 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/KR2010/005649 |
371 Date: |
April 28, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
99/509 ;
99/495 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47J 19/025 20130101;
A47J 19/027 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
99/509 ;
99/495 |
International
Class: |
A23N 1/00 20060101
A23N001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Aug 28, 2009 |
KR |
10-2009-0080478 |
Nov 24, 2009 |
KR |
10-2009-0113817 |
Aug 12, 2010 |
KR |
10-2010-0077914 |
Claims
1. A juicer module, comprising: a juicer container with an open
top, a shaft hole formed in a bottom central portion of the juicer
container and a bottom inclined surface slanted downward and
outwardly from the shaft hole; a lid with a material input through
a side thereof, the lid coupled to an upper portion of the juicer
container; a net drum fixedly arranged within the juicer container;
and a screw arranged within the net drum, the screw having a spiral
portion formed on a side surface thereof, a rotary shaft to pass
through the shaft hole of the juicer container and a lower inclined
surface at least partially formed on a lower end of the screw to
contact the bottom inclined surface of the juicer container.
2. The juicer module as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a
packing positioned at a central portion of the bottom inclined
surface, the packing having an inclined surface extending parallel
to the bottom inclined surface of the juicer container.
3. The juicer module as claimed in claim 1, wherein a first
inserting protrusion is formed downwardly on a first side of a
lower end of the net drum, and at least one second inserting
protrusion is formed downwardly on a second side of the lower end
of the net drum, and wherein an inserting hole into which the first
inserting protrusion is inserted is formed in a first side of the
bottom inclined surface, and at least one inserting groove into
which the second inserting protrusion is inserted is formed in a
second side of the bottom inclined surface.
4. The juicer module as claimed in claim 1, wherein a guide rotary
portion is formed on an upper end of the screw, and the lid is
provided with a rotary guide to guide the rotation of the screw,
the rotary guide being in contact with an edge of the guide rotary
portion of the screw when the juicer module is assembled.
5. The juicer module as claimed in claim 1, wherein a shaft is
provided at an upper central portion of the screw, a shaft socket
into which the shaft is inserted is formed in a lower side of the
lid, and a reinforcing layer is disposed in the shaft socket.
6. The juicer module as claimed in claim 1, wherein a blade
structure to cut a material received via the material input or push
the material downwards is formed on an upper end of the screw.
7. A juicer module, comprising: a juicer container having an open
top and a shaft hole formed in a bottom central portion of the
juicer container; a net drum fixedly arranged within the juicer
container; a screw arranged within the net drum, the screw having a
spiral portion formed on a side surface thereof and a rotary shaft
to pass through the shaft hole of the juicer container; and a lid
coupled to an upper portion of the juicer container, the lid having
a material input through a side thereof and a rotary guide for
guiding the rotation of the screw.
8. The juicer module as claimed in claim 7, wherein a guide rotary
portion is formed on an upper end of the screw, and the rotary
guide of the lid is in contact with an edge of guide rotary portion
of the screw when the juicer module is assembled.
9. The juicer module as claimed in claim 8, wherein the guide
rotary portion of the screw is ring-shaped to receive therethrough
a material put into the material input.
10. The juicer module as claimed in claim 8, wherein the rotary
guide of the lid comprises a plurality of guide pieces in contact
with the guide rotary portion of the screw, at least one space
provided between adjacent guide pieces to allow an inputted juice
material to traverse therethrough.
11. A vertical screw juicer, comprising: a main body having a
driving shaft protruding upwards; a container having an open top
installed onto the main body; a screw arranged within the
container, the screw having a rotary shaft vertically fitted around
the driving shaft; a net drum arranged within the container to
enclose a circumference of the screw; a lid coupled to an upper
portion of the main body, the lid having a material input; and a
locking structure for restricting a vertical movement of the screw
to prevent the screw from lifting when the driving shaft and the
rotary shaft rotate together.
12. The vertical screw juicer as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
rotary shaft includes a shaft socket into which an upper portion of
the driving shaft is inserted, and wherein the locking structure
includes a locking protrusion formed on the driving shaft and a
locking hole formed on the rotary shaft so that the locking
protrusion is inserted into the locking hole when the driving shaft
is inserted into the shaft socket.
13. The vertical screw juicer as claimed in claim 12, wherein the
locking hole includes a lower space open downwardly to allow the
locking protrusion to enter and depart the locking hole; a guide
portion for allowing the locking protrusion to horizontally move as
the driving shaft begins to rotate; and a locking portion for
restricting a vertical movement of the locking protrusion.
14. The vertical screw juicer as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
locking hole has a pair of locking portions respectively formed at
right and left sides of the guide portion to restrict a vertical
movement of the rotary shaft against a bidirectional rotation of
the driving shaft.
15. The vertical screw juicer as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
locking protrusion has a circular cross section, and the locking
portion is shaped as a circular arc corresponding to the circular
cross section of the locking protrusion.
16. The vertical screw juicer as claimed in claim 13, wherein the
locking hole further has inclined surfaces at a lower portion of
the locking hole to slidingly guide the locking protrusion into the
locking hole.
17. The vertical screw juicer as claimed in claim 16, wherein the
inclined surfaces are shaped as an arc connected to both sides of
the lower space.
18. The vertical screw juicer as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
rotary shaft includes a shaft socket into which an upper portion of
the driving shaft is inserted, and wherein the locking structure
includes a pair of locking protrusions respectively formed on both
widthwise opposite sides of the driving shaft; and a pair of
locking holes formed in the rotary shaft so that the pair of
locking protrusions are respectively inserted into the locking
holes when the driving shaft is inserted into the shaft socket.
19. The vertical screw juicer as claimed in claim 11, wherein the
lid has a support formed on a bottom surface thereof to suppress a
shaking of an upper portion of the screw.
20. The vertical screw juicer as claimed in claim 12, wherein the
locking protrusion is formed from an end of a pin laterally
inserted into and coupled to the driving shaft.
21. The vertical screw juicer as claimed in claim 17, wherein each
of the locking holes has an inclined surface for slidingly guiding
the corresponding locking protrusion into the locking hole, and the
inclined surface is shaped as an arc connected to the corresponding
locking protrusion.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present disclosure relates to a juicer module, and more
particularly, to a juicer module in which a screw connected to a
driving shaft of a driving device is used to squeeze and/or mill
vegetables, fruits, nuts, cereals, etc., thereby producing juices,
vegetable juices or other juice-type foods.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] A juicer is a device for processing vegetables, fruits, etc.
to produce fluid-typed or juice-typed foods. Various types of
juicers which may be conveniently used for domestic or commercial
applications have been known. Most universal juicers adopted a
scheme in which a material is thrown into a material input and then
milled by using a high-speed rotary blade. However, this type of
juicer has typically been restricted to crushing tough materials
such as green vegetables composed of stems or leaves to produce
vegetable juices.
[0005] Accordingly, a juicer has been conventionally developed to
squeeze vegetables and fruits between a rotary screw and a net
drum, thereby producing juices or extracts (e.g., vegetable
juices). In such a juicer, the screw and the net drum are arranged
within an open top juicer container, and a lid in which a material
input is formed is coupled with an upper portion of the juicer
container. A shaft socket is formed in a lower portion of the lid,
and a shaft which is inserted into the shaft socket in a rotatable
manner is installed onto an upper end of the screw. The material
input is configured to be small-sized in the lid without being
overlapped with the shaft socket. The juicer container is mounted
on a main body in which a driving device is embedded, and the screw
is connected to a driving shaft of the driving device positioned
outside the juicer module so that the screw may be rotated.
[0006] In the conventional juicer, only protruded spiral portions
formed on a side surface of the screw take part in material
processing schemes such as juice-squeezing and/or milling together
with a juice-squeezing or milling net drum. Accordingly, in order
that the material thrown through the material input may reach the
spiral portions formed on the side surface of the screw, a
considerable portion of the upper end of the screw has been
removed.
[0007] Further, in the conventional juicer, water or moisture may
be permeated through a location at which the driving shaft of the
main body and a rotary shaft of the screw are connected with each
other. As such, a cylindrical protrusion for waterproofing is
typically formed around a central bottom portion of the juicer
container which is connected to the driving shaft, and a seal is
installed on an upper portion of the cylindrical protrusion.
Further, a cylindrical depression is typically formed around the
rotary shaft positioned on a lower portion of the screw so that the
cylindrical protrusion is inserted into the cylindrical
depression.
[0008] However, this type of conventional juicer has a disadvantage
in that it is difficult to clean the surrounding of the cylindrical
protrusion on the central bottom portion of the juicer container
and the internal portion of the cylindrical depression on the lower
portion of the screw. Since the juicer is a food processing device
requiring extreme cleanness, this disadvantage is very critical.
Further, in order to assemble the screw and the juicer container
with each other, the protrusion on the central bottom portion of
the juicer container must be smoothly inserted into the depression
on the lower portion of the screw. For this, the dimension of the
cylindrical depression is larger than that of the cylindrical
protrusion. Still further, since the rotary shaft of the screw must
be supported by a soft seal installed on the upper portion of the
protrusion, the screw is maintained in a state in which the screw
is fluctuated in a lateral direction when the screw is assembled to
the bottom of the juicer container. Although the fluctuation of the
screw may be prevented by inserting the shaft formed on the upper
portion of the screw into the shaft socket formed in the lid
according to the most popular scheme in the food processing field,
there is another disadvantage in that the shaft socket formed in
the lid may be broken under the unstable assembling condition of
the screw. Further, it is very inconvenient to clean the shaft
socket formed on the lid, and this is deemed to be a disadvantage
for such a food processing device requiring sanitation.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0009] Embodiments of the present invention address the
aforementioned problems in the prior art.
[0010] According to an embodiment, a juicer module is provided in
which the cylindrical protrusion and the cylindrical depression
typical of a conventional juicer, which would otherwise be arranged
on an inner bottom of the juicer container and in the lower portion
of the screw, respectively, may be eliminated, thereby facilitating
the cleaning of the juicer, resting the screw in a stationary
manner on the inner bottom of the juicer container, and firmly
preventing the moisture in the juicer container from being leaked
outwards.
[0011] According to another embodiment, a juicer module is provided
in which the shaft typical of a conventional juicer, which would
otherwise be arranged on an upper end of the screw, as well as the
shaft socket, which would otherwise be arranged in the lid and into
which the shaft would be inserted, may be omitted, thereby further
facilitating the cleaning of the lid.
[0012] According to another embodiment, a vertical screw juicer is
provided comprising a locking structure which can prevent a
vertical movement of the screw which would cause the deterioration
or reduction of juicing efficiency.
[0013] According to one embodiment, there is provided a juicer
module having an open top juicer container with a shaft hole formed
in a bottom central portion of the juicer container and a bottom
inclined surface slanting downwards and outwardly from the shaft
hole; a lid with a material input through a side thereof, the lid
being coupled to an upper portion of the juicer container; a net
drum fixedly arranged within the juicer container; and a screw
arranged within the net drum, the screw having a spiral portion
formed on a side surface thereof and a rotary shaft to pass through
the shaft hole of the juicer container.
[0014] According to one embodiment, a lower inclined surface at
least partially formed on a lower end of the screw may be in
contact with the bottom inclined surface of the juicer
container.
[0015] According to another embodiment, a seal or packing into
which the rotary shaft is inserted may be installed at a central
portion of the bottom inclined surface of the juicer container, and
the seal or packing may include an inclined surface extending from
and parallel to the bottom inclined surface.
[0016] According to a further embodiment, a first inserting
protrusion may be formed downwardly on one side of a lower end of
the net drum, and at least one second inserting protrusion may be
formed downwardly on the other side of the lower end of the net
drum, and wherein an inserting hole into which the first inserting
protrusion is inserted may be formed in one side of the bottom
inclined surface, and at least one inserting groove into which the
second inserting protrusion is inserted may be formed in the other
side of the bottom inclined surface.
[0017] According to a still further embodiment, a guide rotary
portion may be formed on an upper end of the screw, and the lid may
be provided with a rotary guide for guiding the rotation of the
screw, the rotary guide being in contact with an edge of the guide
rotary portion when the juicer module is assembled. Alternatively,
according to another embodiment, a shaft may be provided at an
upper central portion of the screw, a shaft socket into which the
shaft is inserted may be formed in a lower side of the lid, and a
reinforcing layer may be disposed in the shaft socket.
[0018] According to another embodiment, a blade structure for
cutting a material thrown into the material input or pushing the
material downwards may be formed on an upper end of the screw.
[0019] According to another embodiment, there is provided a juicer
module having an open top juicer container with a shaft hole formed
in a bottom central portion of the juicer container; a net drum
fixedly arranged within the juicer container; a screw arranged
within the net drum, the screw having a spiral portion formed on a
side surface thereof, a rotary shaft to pass through the shaft hole
of the juicer container and a guide rotary portion formed on an
upper end thereof; and a lid coupled to an upper portion of the
juicer container, the lid having a material input through a side
thereof and a rotary guide for guiding the rotation of the screw,
the rotary guide of the lid being in contact with an edge of the
guide rotary portion of the screw when the juicer module is
assembled. In one embodiment, the guide rotary portion may be
ring-shaped to receive therethrough a material put into the
material input.
[0020] According to another embodiment, there is provided a
vertical screw juicer including a main body having a driving shaft
protruding upwards; an open top container installed onto the main
body; a screw arranged within the container, the screw having a
rotary shaft vertically fitted around the driving shaft; a net drum
arranged within the container to enclose a circumference of the
screw; a lid coupled to an upper portion of the main body, the lid
having a material input; and a locking structure for restricting a
vertical movement of the screw to prevent the screw from lifting
when the driving shaft and the rotary shaft rotate together.
[0021] According to one embodiment, the rotary shaft includes a
shaft socket into which an upper portion of the driving shaft is
inserted, and the locking structure includes a locking protrusion
formed on the driving shaft, and a locking hole formed on the
rotary shaft so that the locking protrusion is inserted into the
locking hole when the driving shaft is inserted into the shaft
socket. The locking hole may include a lower space open downwardly
to allow the locking protrusion to enter and depart the locking
hole; a guide portion for allowing the locking protrusion to
horizontally move as the driving shaft begins to rotate; and a
locking portion for restricting a vertical movement of the locking
protrusion. The locking hole may include a pair of locking portions
respectively formed at right and left sides of the guide portion to
restrict a vertical movement of the rotary shaft against a
bidirectional rotation of the driving shaft. The locking protrusion
may have a circular cross section, and the locking portion may be
shaped as a circular arc corresponding to the circular cross
section. The locking hole may further include inclined surfaces at
a lower portion of the locking hole to slidingly guide the locking
protrusion into the locking hole. The inclined surfaces may be
shaped as an arc which is connected to both sides of the lower
space. The rotary shaft may include a shaft socket into which an
upper portion of the driving shaft is inserted, and the locking
structure may include a pair of locking protrusions respectively
formed on both widthwise opposite sides of the driving shaft and a
pair of locking holes formed in the rotary shaft so that the pair
of locking protrusions are respectively inserted into the locking
holes when the driving shaft is inserted into the shaft socket.
[0022] According to another embodiment, the lid may have a support
formed on a bottom surface thereof to suppress a shaking of an
upper portion of the screw.
[0023] According to a further embodiment, the locking protrusion
may be formed from an end of a pin laterally inserted into and
installed to the driving shaft. Each of the locking holes may
further include an inclined surface for slidingly guiding the
corresponding locking protrusion into the locking hole, and the
inclined surface may be shaped as an arc which is connected to the
corresponding locking protrusion.
[0024] According to various embodiments of the present invention so
constructed, the following advantages can be expected.
[0025] The juicer module according to one embodiment of the present
invention adopts a bottom structure of the juicer container having
a bottom inclined surface which gradually slopes downwardly from a
central region of the bottom surface of the juicer container
through which the rotary shaft of the screw passes toward the
outside of the bottom surface of the juicer container, so that the
leakage of water from the juicer container toward the main body may
be prevented. As such, a cylindrical protrusion for waterproofing
which might otherwise be formed at a bottom portion of a juicer
container of a conventional juicer or juicer module may be omitted,
thereby further facilitating the cleaning of the bottom portion of
the juicer container. Further, in the juicer module according to
another embodiment of the present invention, an inclined surface
which corresponds to the bottom inclined surface of the juicer
container is formed on the lower portion of the screw, thereby
resting the screw on the bottom of the juicer container in a
stationary manner. Still further, in the juicer module according to
still another embodiment of the present invention, a guide rotary
portion and a rotary guide are formed on the upper end of the screw
and the lower portion of the lid, respectively, so that a shaft
socket, which might otherwise be formed in a lid of a conventional
juicer, may be omitted, thereby enabling cleaning of the lid in a
more sanitary and convenient manner.
[0026] The scope of the present invention is not limited to the
embodiments described and illustrated herein but is defined by the
appended claims. It will be apparent that those skilled in the art
can make various modifications and changes thereto within the scope
of the invention defined by the claims. Therefore, the true scope
of the present invention should be defined by the technical spirit
of the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] Objects, features and advantages of various embodiments of
the present invention will become apparent from the following
description of an example embodiment given in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
[0028] FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a juicer module
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0029] FIG. 2 is an exploded sectional view illustrating the juicer
module shown in FIG. 1 with a squeezing rod decoupled from the
juicer module.
[0030] FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a screw of the
juicer module shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0031] FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an exemplary configuration for
rotating a brush as the screw is rotated in the juicer module
according to one embodiment of the present embodiment.
[0032] FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating a juicer module
according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating a
vertical screw juicer according to a further embodiment of the
present invention.
[0034] FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) are views illustrating a locking
structure between a rotary shaft of a screw and a driving shaft of
a motor in the vertical screw juicer shown in FIG. 6.
[0035] FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a modification of the locking
structure shown in FIG. 7.
[0036] FIG. 9 is a view illustrating another modification of the
locking structure shown in FIG. 7.
[0037] FIG. 10 is a longitudinal view illustrating a vertical screw
juicer according to a still further embodiment of the present
invention.
[0038] FIG. 11 is a view illustrating another locking structure
according to a further modification of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0039] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The embodiments described herein are merely provided as examples to
completely convey the sprit and scope of the present invention to
those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the present invention is not
be limited to the embodiments to be described below but may be
implemented in various different forms. And, widths, lengths and
thicknesses of the components may be represented in an exaggerative
manner for convenience through the drawings. Through the
specification, like elements are designated by like reference
numerals.
[0040] FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a juicer module
according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an
exploded sectional view illustrating the juicer module from which a
squeezing rod is decoupled; FIG. 3 is a perspective view
illustrating a screw of the juicer module shown in FIG. 1; and FIG.
4 is a view illustrating an exemplary configuration applied to the
juicer module shown in FIG. 1, in which a brush is rotated as the
screw is rotated.
[0041] As shown in FIG. 1, a juicer module 1 according to an
embodiment of the present invention includes a juicer container 10,
a lid 20, a screw 30 and a net drum 40. Further, the juicer module
1 further includes a brush 50 and a squeezing rod 70. The juicer
module 1 is utilized in a juicer for making fruit juice, vegetable
juice, cereal juice, nut juice, or other typed crushed products,
and the juicer module 1 may be vertically installed onto a main
body (not shown) into which a driving device is embedded. Since any
conventional main body may be used as the main body of the juicer
according to embodiments of the present invention, the specific
description and illustration for the main body will be omitted in
the specification and drawings.
[0042] The driving device is provided with a driving shaft which is
vertically protruded from a housing of the main body so that the
driving shaft is detachably connected to a rotary shaft 32
positioned at a lower end of the screw 30. The driving shaft may be
generally angular-shaped. In this case, the rotary shaft 32 of the
screw 30 may be provided with an angular-shaped shaft socket into
which the angular-shaped driving shaft is inserted.
[0043] The juicer container 10 is open-topped, and the lid 20 is
coupled to an upper portion of the juicer container 10. In order
that the lid 20 is detachably coupled with the upper portion of the
juicer container 10, the juicer container 10 and the lid 20 are
provided with coupling ribs 11 and 21, respectively, which
correspond with each other, so that the coupling ribs 11 and 21 may
be coupled with each other due to the rotation of the lid 20 in one
direction while they may be decoupled from each other due to the
rotation of the lid 20 in the counter direction.
[0044] As described below in detail, the screw 30 and the net drum
40 which is nearly adjacent to the outside of the screw 30 are
arranged within the juicer container 10, so that the screw 30 and
the net drum 40 may cause a material to be squeezed therebetween
and extract juice or extract from the material. A juice-squeezing
net drum is basically used as the net drum 40, but a milling net
drum for milling other cereals or nuts may be additionally
used.
[0045] The brush 50 is detachably assembled to an outer periphery
of the net drum 40 and positioned between the net drum 40 and an
inner wall surface of the juicer container 10, so that the brush 50
may be rotated to mainly serve to strip off material or material
residues adhered onto the inner wall surface of the juicer
container 10. The type of net drums may be varied depending on the
material to be processed. In this case, one type of net drum may be
replaced with another type of net drum.
[0046] According to the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, the screw
30 is substantially cylinder-shaped, and spiral portions 31 which
face the net drum 40 to squeeze and guide the material are provided
on an outer periphery of the screw 30. A wall surface blade for
facilitating the cutting or milling of the material may be
additionally formed on the net drum 40.
[0047] The rotary shaft 32 which passes through a central portion
of a bottom inclined surface 101 of the juicer container 10 is
provided at a lower central portion of the screw 30. The screw 30
is detachably connected to the driving shaft positioned at an upper
portion of the main body to which the juicer module 1 is mounted.
As described above, the driving shaft is a shaft which is
rotationally driven by and extended from the driving device in the
main body having a motor. The driving device may be configured
rotate the rotary shaft at low speeds or, alternatively, to rotate
the rotary shaft at medium speeds or high speeds.
[0048] In one embodiment, the rotary shaft 32 has an angular shaft
socket, and the driving shaft is angular shaped to be inserted into
the angular shaft socket.
[0049] The bottom inclined surface 101 of the juicer container 10
is gradually lowered outwards (i.e., slants downward and outwardly)
around the rotary shaft 32 positioned at the central portion
thereof. This shape of the bottom inclined surface 101 allows the
water or moisture in the bottom portion of the juicer container 10
to be directed toward a bottom outside area of the juicer container
10 rather than a bottom central area of the juicer container 10,
which contributes to preventing the leakage of water around the
rotary shaft 32, i.e., through the shaft hole in the bottom central
portion of the juicer container 10.
[0050] A lower inclined surface 33 which is gradually raised from
its outside toward the central portion thereof to correspond to the
bottom inclined surface 101 of the juicer container 10 may be
formed at a lower portion of the screw 30. The lower inclined
surface 33 of the screw 30 faces the bottom inclined surface 101 of
the juicer container 10, and the central portion of the bottom
inclined surface 101 is positioned higher. Further, a packing 102
is installed to the central portion of the bottom inclined surface
101, and the rotary shaft 32 of the screw 30 is inserted into the
packing 102. An inclined surface 102a extending from and
substantially parallel to the bottom inclined surface 101 is formed
on an upper portion of the packing 102. The inclined surface 102a
of the packing 102 is closely contacted with the lower inclined
surface 33 of the screw 30 so that the leakage of water through the
shaft hole may be more firmly prevented.
[0051] Further, a guide rotary portion 34 may be formed at an upper
end of the screw 30. In one embodiment, the guide rotary portion 34
has a flat horizontal upper surface (see FIG. 3). The guide rotary
portion 34 slidably faces a rotary guide 22 formed at a lower
portion of the lid 20. Thus, the rotary guide 22 may guide the
rotation of the guide rotary portion 34. The rotary guide 22 may be
positioned to both face top and side surfaces of the guide rotary
portion 34.
[0052] As well shown in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 3, the
guide rotary portion 34 may be ring-shaped. This allows material
thrown into a material input 24 of the lid 20 to pass therethrough.
At least one reinforcing rib 37 may be connected between the guide
rotary portion 34 and a screw body of the screw 30. Such a
reinforcing rib 37 serves to reinforce the guide rotary portion 34
in order to prevent the guide rotary portion 34 from being
separated from the screw body of the screw 30. Even though the
guide rotary portion 34 and the screw body of the screw 30 are
integrally formed by an injection molding according to the
illustrated embodiment of the present embodiment, it may be
considered that the guide rotary portion 34 and the screw body of
the screw 30 are separately formed and then assembled, for example,
by a coupling scheme. Further, insofar as the guide rotary portion
34 allows the material to be dropped therethrough, the guide rotary
portion 34 may have any other shape or configuration rather than
the ring-shaped configuration.
[0053] Due to the rotary guide 22 of the lid 20 and the guide
rotary portion 34 of the screw 30, a shaft, which would otherwise
be arranged onto the upper end of the screw in the conventional
juice module, or a shaft socket, which would otherwise be arranged
in the lid, may be omitted.
[0054] Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, the material input 24 is
vertically elongated in an upper end of the lid 20. A portion of
the upper end of the screw 30 is configure to have a blade
structure 39 (see FIG. 3) for cutting the material thrown into the
material input or pushing the material downwards. In order that the
material thrown into the material input may be cut by using such a
blade structure 39, the material input 24 is arranged to be
deviated toward a side from the central portion of the lid 20.
[0055] Meanwhile, the squeezing rod 70 is used to squeeze and push
a material, and more specifically, a material such as high-fiber
fruits or vegetables, into the material input 24. If the squeezing
rod 70 squeezes the material in the material input 24, the material
is pushed down toward a lower end of the material input 24 so that
the material may be cut by the blade structure 39 (see FIG. 3) at
the upper end of the screw 30 and/or pushed and dropped into the
juicer container 10.
[0056] As well shown in FIG. 2, the material input 24 may include
an inner rib 244 formed on a lower inner wall surface thereof, and
a guide protrusion 242 extended from an upper inner wall surface
thereof to the inner rib 244. Further, the squeezing rod 70 may
include a side surface in which there are an elongated guide groove
72 corresponding to the guide protrusion 242, and a rib groove 74
corresponding to the inner rib 244. The guide groove 72 and the rib
groove 74 are shown with dotted lines. The inner rib 244 may also
serve to cut the material together with the rib groove 74 of the
squeezing rod 70. The shapes of the material input 24 and the
squeezing rod 70 as shown in FIG. 2 are exemplarily described to
explain one embodiment of the present invention, and therefore, the
present invention is not limited thereto. As such, the guide groove
72 and the rib groove 74 of the squeezing rod 70 and/or the inner
rib 244 and the guide protrusion 242 of the material input 24 may
be omitted.
[0057] The net drum 40 is maintained in a stationary manner within
the juicer container 10. If the screw 30 positioned within the net
drum 40 is rotated, the net drum 40, which faces the spiral
portions 31 of the screw 30, squeezes the material thrown therein
to produce juices or extracts. At this time, if a plurality of
elongated edges, i.e., a plurality of elongated wall surface
blades, may be formed on the net drum 40 in a vertical direction,
the squeezing, cutting and juicing efficiency to the material may
be increased. The juicer container 10 has a first discharging hole
14 and a second discharging hole 12, wherein the juices or extracts
extracted from the material are discharged out through the first
discharging hole 14 out of the juicer container 10 while the
material residues are discharged out through the second discharging
hole 12.
[0058] In order to fix the net drum 40 to the juicer container 10
without being fluctuated, first and second inserting protrusions 43
and 44 heading downwards are formed one and the other sides of the
lower end of the net drum 40, respectively, while an inserting hole
18 and an inserting groove 19 into which the first and second
inserting protrusions 43 and 44 are respectively inserted are
formed in a bottom of the juicer container 10. The inserting groove
19 may be composed of one or more inserting grooves and the second
inserting protrusion 44 may be also composed of one or more second
inserting protrusions depending on the number of the inserting
grooves.
[0059] In one embodiment, the first inserting protrusion 43 and the
inserting hole 18 may form a passage which extends to the first
discharging hole 14 of the juicer container 10 as shown in FIG.
1.
[0060] Meanwhile, the brush 50 serves to continuously strip off
material or material residues adhered onto the inner wall surface
of the juicer container 10. The brush 50 has a rotary-type brush
frame 52 which is substantially cylindrical-shaped, and a wiper 54
which is installed to the brush frame 52. The wiper 54 is made of a
flexible material, and more specifically, a flexible resin or a
rubber material, and closely contacted with the inner wall surface
of the juicer container 10. Since the brush 50 is rotated, the
wiper 54 may continuously wipe the material or its material
residues adhered onto the inner wall surface of the juicer
container 10.
[0061] Multiple schemes may be adopted to rotate the brush 50.
According to one embodiment of the present embodiment, a train of
gears as shown in FIG. 4 causes the brush 50 to be correspondingly
rotated as the screw 30 is rotated. Referring to FIG. 4, a circular
intermediate gear tooth 95 is sandwiched between a driving gear
tooth 35 formed at the lower end of the screw 30 and a driven gear
tooth 525 formed at a lower end of the brush frame 52, and such an
intermediate gear tooth 95 is simultaneously gear-engaged with both
the driving gear tooth 35 and the driven gear tooth 525. As such,
if the screw 30 (see FIG. 1) is rotated, the corporative operation
of the gear teeth 35, 95 and 525 causes the brush 50 (see FIG. 1)
to be rotated.
[0062] FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating a juicer module
according to another embodiment of the present invention. The
juicer module 1 according to the this illustrated embodiment
includes a shaft 301 positioned at an upper central portion of the
screw 30, and a shaft socket 201 formed in a lower central portion
of the lid 20 positioned at an upper end of the juicer container 10
so that the shaft 301 may be inserted into the shaft socket 201 to
support the screw 30 in a rotatable manner. In order to prevent the
shaft socket 201 from being broken due to any possible traverse
fluctuations of the screw 30, a reinforcing layer 210 may be
disposed, formed of otherwise received in the shaft socket 201 by
using an inserting scheme or a coating scheme. Since the insertion
of the shaft 301 into the shaft socket 201 causes the upper end of
the screw 30 to be supported in the rotatable manner, the rotary
guide at the lower portion of the lid and the guide rotary portion
at the upper portion of the screw as described in aforementioned
embodiments may be omitted. Other features of the juicer module may
be identical to those in aforementioned embodiments so that the
description about the other features will be omitted to avoid
redundant descriptions.
[0063] As shown in FIG. 6, a vertical screw juicer according to a
further embodiment of the present invention comprises a main body
4000 having a motor 4000a embedded therein; and a juicer module
installed onto the main body 4000. The juicer module includes a
screw 1000, a juicer container 2000, a net drum 3000 and a lid
6000. The vertical screw juicer further comprises a locking
structure 5000, which operatively couples a driving shaft 4100 of
the motor 4000a with a rotary shaft 1100 of the screw 1000 and
simultaneously prevents the rotary shaft 1100 from being lifted,
when the driving shaft 4100 rotates. The assembling sequence of the
main body and the respective components of the juicer module may be
variously modified, and therefore the present invention should not
be limited to the assembling sequence.
[0064] The rotary shaft 1100 is formed integrally with screw 1000,
and the rotary shaft 1100 extends to vertically protrude from a
lower portion of the screw 1000. The screw 1000 is vertically
installed in the juicer container 2000, and the net drum 3000 is
installed in the juicer container 2000 to enclose a circumference
of the screw 1000. The net drum 3000, in cooperation with the screw
1000, serves to make juices from materials such as fruits or
vegetables and simultaneously serves as a filter for separating the
juices from their material residues. The juicer container 2000
includes a bottom inclined surface 2010 which is inclined downwards
and outwardly from the central portion or its neighboring portion
thereof, and the screw 1000 includes a lower inclined surface which
is formed at a lower portion of the screw 1000 and
surface-contacted with the bottom inclined surface 2010 when the
vertical screw juicer is assembled. The bottom inclined surface
2010 may cause the screw 1000 having its corresponding inclined
surface to be stably seated and simultaneously serve to block
moisture against a central portion of the bottom inclined surface
2010 where a shaft coupling between the driving shaft and the
rotary shaft is formed.
[0065] When the juicer module is mounted to the main body, the
driving shaft 4100 of the motor 4000a is inserted into the juicer
container 2000 through a bottom seal or packing 2010a of the juicer
container 2000. The screw 1000 includes a lower space that encloses
a circumference of its own rotary shaft 1100, wherein the rotary
shaft 1100 of the screw 1000 and the driving shaft 4100 are coupled
with each other in an insertion scheme within the lower space. To
this end, the rotary shaft 1100 has an elongate shaft socket 1100a
of a circular cross section while the driving shaft 4100 has a
corresponding circular cross section so that the driving shaft 4100
is inserted into the shaft socket 1100a. As will be described in
detail hereinafter, the locking structure 5000 is configured to
completely suppress a relative movement between the driving shaft
4100 and the rotary shaft 1100 in the vertical direction as well as
in the rotational direction when the driving shaft 4100 rotates.
Specifically, the locking structure 5000 completely suppresses the
screw 1000 from being lifted by restraining the vertical movement
of the rotary shaft 1100. Further, the locking structure 5000 is
configured to allow the coupling between the driving shaft 4100 and
the rotary shaft 1100 to be easily decoupled when the rotational
operation of the driving shaft 4100 stops.
[0066] The lid 6000 is detachably coupled to an upper portion of
the juicer container 2000, and has a support 6100 formed on a
bottom surface of the lid 6000 to suppress the screw 1000 from
shaking. It is preferable that the support 6100 has a rotational
support structure which is adjacent to an upper edge of the screw
1000 to guide the rotation of the screw 1000, wherein the
rotational support structure may have a plurality of guide pieces
which are intermittently contacted with the upper edge of the screw
1000. The screw 1000 includes a spiral rib formed on a side surface
of the screw 1000 to crush, cut or squeeze the material, wherein
the spiral rib is positioned to be adjacent to an inner surface of
the net drum 3000.
[0067] According to one embodiment, the locking structure 5000
includes a pair of locking protrusions 5020 and 5020 respectively
provided on both widthwise opposite sides of the driving shaft
4100. The pair of locking protrusions 5020 and 5020 may be formed
by a pin which laterally penetrates the driving shaft 4100. The pin
may be inserted into a pin hole of the driving shaft 4100 in an
interference fit scheme, so that both ends of the pin protrude from
a side surface of the driving shaft 4100 in 180 degree opposite
directions, thereby forming the pair of locking protrusions 5020
and 5020 as described above. The locking structure 5000 further
includes a pair of locking holes 5040 and 5040 formed on the rotary
shaft 1100 respectively corresponding to the locking protrusions
5020 and 5020. In a state where the driving shaft 4100 is inserted
into the shaft socket 1100a of the rotary shaft 1100, the locking
protrusions 5020 and 5020 may be positioned within the locking
holes 5040 and 5040, respectively. Further, as will be described
hereinafter, when the driving shaft 4100 rotates, the locking
protrusions 5020 and 5020 continue to be locked into the respective
locking holes 5040 and 5040, so that the screw 1000 and thus the
rotary shaft 1100 thereof may rotate together with the driving
shaft 4100.
[0068] FIG. 7(a) shows a state in which the operative coupling
between the rotary shaft 1100 and the driving shaft 4100 may be
decoupled, while FIG. 7(b) shows another state in which the rotary
shaft 1100 and the driving shaft 4100 have been operatively
coupled.
[0069] Referring to FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b), each locking protrusion
5020 of the illustrated embodiment is shaped as a circular
cylinder, and its corresponding locking hole 5040 has a shape for
allowing the vertical insertion of the locking protrusion 5020, the
horizontal linear guide of the locking protrusion 5020 and the
vertical withdrawal of the locking protrusion 5020. That is, a
lower space 5040a which is open downwardly is formed at a lower
portion of the locking hole 5040 to allow the locking protrusion
5020 to enter and depart the locking hole 5040; a linear guide
portion 5040b is formed at an upper central portion of the locking
hole 5040 to allow the locking protrusion 5020 to be horizontally
and linearly moved as the driving shaft 4100 begins to rotate; and
locking portions 5040c, into which the locking protrusion 5020 is
locked when the driving shaft 4100 and the rotary shaft 1100 of the
screw rotate in an interlocking scheme, are formed at right and
left sides of the linear guide portion 5040b, each locking portion
5040c being shaped as a substantially circular arc. A lower portion
of each locking portion 5040c has a shape capable of preventing the
locking protrusion 5020 from escaping downwards, i.e., an inwardly
protruding shape. Therefore, even if an upward force for lifting
the screw 1000 is generated during the rotation of the screw 1000
(see FIG. 6), the screw 1000 is suppressed from being lifted since
the locking protrusion 5020 is caught to the locking portion 5040c.
Further, in order for the locking protrusion 5020 to be more
reliably contacted with an inner surface of the locking portion
5040c of the locking hole 5040, it is preferable that the circular
sectional shape of the locking protrusion 5020 corresponds to the
circular arc shape of the locking portion 5040c. It is more
preferable that the radius of the locking protrusion 5020 is
substantially identical with the radius of curvature of the
circular arc shape of the locking portion 5040c. Although the pair
of locking protrusions 5020 and 5020 and the pair of locking holes
5040 and 5040 are respectively provided on the driving shaft 4100
and the rotary shaft 1100 in the illustrated embodiment of FIGS.
7(a) and 7(b), a locking structure 5000 as shown in FIG. 8, in
which a single locking protrusion 5020 and a single locking hole
5040 are formed on the driving shaft 4100 and the rotary shaft
1100, respectively, may be provided.
[0070] Referring to FIG. 6 and FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b), when the
locking structure 5000 as described above is used, the juicer
module, in which the screw 1000, the juicer container 2000 and the
net drum 3000 are assembled, is vertically pressed downwards and
mounted to the main body 4000 from which the driving shaft 4100
protrudes, whereby the driving shaft 4100 may be inserted into the
shaft socket 1100a of the rotary shaft 1100. Alternatively, in a
state where the juicer container 2000 is mounted to the main body
4000, the driving shaft 4100 may be inserted into the shaft socket
1100a by using a simple operation of pressing down the screw 1000
against the driving shaft 4100 or only by using the weight of the
screw 1000. Further, only by operating the motor 4000a embedded in
the main body 4000, the locking protrusion 5020 provided on the
driving shaft 4100 is rotated and then spontaneously engages the
locking portion 5040c of the locking hole 5040, so that the driving
shaft 4100 is operatively coupled with the screw 1000 and the
rotary shaft 1100 thereof. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7(b),
since the locking portion 5040c of the locking hole 5040 strictly
prevents the locking protrusion 5020 from being vertically moved,
the screw 1000 may be reliably rotated in its original position
without being lifted upwards even if the upward force for lifting
the screw 1000 might be generated due to the rotation of the screw
1000 and/or the accumulation of material residues. Further, when
the screw 1000 needs to be separated after the suspension of the
rotation of the screw 1000, once the screw 1000 is only slightly
rotated and then lifted upwards, the locking state between the
locking protrusion 5020 and its corresponding locking hole 5040 is
released from the position as shown in FIG. 7(b) to the position as
shown in FIG. 7(a), so that the screw 1000 may be more easily
separated.
[0071] Further, according to the illustrated embodiment of FIGS.
7(a) and 7(b), the locking hole 5040 may include inclined surfaces
5040d which are positioned to the lower portion of the locking hole
5040 and gradually extend to an inside of the locking hole 5040,
specifically the locking portions 5040c. Even if the locking
protrusion 5020 and its corresponding locking hole 5040 are not
aligned with each other, the inclined surfaces 5040d allow the
locking protrusion 5020 formed on the driving shaft 4100 to
spontaneously slide over the inclined surfaces 5040d, so that the
locking protrusion 5020 may be spontaneously moved into the locking
hole 5040. Since it is difficult for a user to identify the
relative position between the locking protrusion 5020 and its
corresponding locking hole 5040 with the naked eye, the inclined
surfaces 5040d are very useful to realize an easy coupling between
the rotary shaft of the screw and the driving shaft of the
motor.
[0072] In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, since the inclined surfaces
5040d may be shaped as an arc which respectively extend to both
sides of the lower space, the locking protrusion 5020 may be
spontaneously moved into its corresponding locking hole 5040 over
the inclined surface 5040d even if the locking protrusion 5020
might be pressed downwards in a certain position.
[0073] FIG. 10 is a longitudinal view illustrating a vertical screw
juicer according to a still further embodiment of the present
invention.
[0074] Referring to FIG. 10, the rotary shaft 1100 passes through
the central portion of the screw 1000 and thus protrudes upwards
over an upper portion of the screw 1000 in the vertical screw
juicer according to the present embodiment. An upper portion of the
rotary shaft 1100 has a smaller diameter than the other portions
thereof, and is inserted into a shaft socket 6100a formed in the
lid 6000. Since the upper portion of the rotary shaft 1100 of the
screw 1000 is inserted into the shaft socket 6100a and rotatably
maintained, the shaking of the screw 1000 can be suppressed
somewhat during the rotation of the screw 1000. The configuration
of the upper portion of the screw 1000 and the shaft socket 6100a
replaces the guide-type support 6100 (see FIG. 6) shown in the
aforementioned embodiment of FIG. 6. Since the vertical screw
juicer according to the present embodiment may have substantially
the same configuration and features as the aforementioned
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 except for the support structure
in the upper portion of the screw by means of the shaft socket
6100a and the upper portion of the rotary shaft 1100, the
description for the same configuration and features will be omitted
to avoid redundant descriptions.
[0075] FIG. 11 shows a modified locking structure for preventing
the screw from being lifted.
[0076] The locking structure 5000 as shown in FIG. 11 includes a
first pin hole 5060 provided in the driving shaft 4100; a second
pin hole 5070 provided in the rotary shaft 1100; and a locking pin
5020' which is simultaneously inserted into both the first pin hole
5060 and the second pin hole 5070 when the driving shaft 4100 is
inserted into the shaft socket 1100a of the rotary shaft 1100 of
the screw. To this end, the first pin hole 5060 is formed to
laterally pass through the driving shaft 4100, and the second pin
hole 5070 is formed to laterally pass through the rotary shaft 1100
of the screw in a position in which the shaft socket 1100a is
positioned.
[0077] According to the various embodiments of the present
invention described herein, the following advantages can be
expected.
[0078] The juicer module according to one embodiment of the present
invention adopts a bottom structure of the juicer container having
a bottom inclined surface which is gradually lowered (i.e., slanted
downwards) from the central region of the bottom surface of the
juicer container through which the rotary shaft of the screw passes
toward the outside of the bottom surface of the juicer container,
so that the leakage of water from the juicer container toward the
main body may be prevented. As such, the cylindrical protrusion for
waterproofing which would otherwise typically be formed at a bottom
portion of a juicer container of a conventional juicer or juicer
module may be omitted, thereby further facilitating the cleaning of
the bottom portion of the juicer container. Further, in the juicer
module according to another embodiment of the present invention, an
inclined surface which corresponds to the bottom inclined surface
of the juicer container is formed on the lower portion of the
screw, thereby resting the screw on the bottom of the juicer
container in a stationary manner. Still further, in the juicer
module according to still another embodiment of the present
invention, the guide rotary portion and the rotary guide are formed
on the upper end of the screw and the lower portion of the lid,
respectively, so that the shaft socket, which would otherwise
typically be formed in a lid of a conventional juicer, may be
omitted, thereby performing the cleaning of the lid in a more
sanitary and convenient manner.
[0079] The scope of the present invention is not limited to the
embodiments described and illustrated herein but is defined by the
appended claims. It will be apparent that those skilled in the art
can make various modifications and changes thereto within the scope
of the invention defined by the claims. Thus, in the following
claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims
to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the
claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments
along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are
entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the
disclosure.
* * * * *